


don't look back

by charmolypi



Series: mavinweek [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: M/M, also beard dad i forgot jack comes back for a bit in this last part, ambiguous raywood that i tried to keep open ended, and kdin too, i love creeper boy gav tbh, i'll edit these tags as it goes, kind of?? kind of kings au mixed w/ minecraft + magic, minecraft au, now with some jerm and lindsay, r & r connection is here w/ some meg, there are others there in the background but it mostly focuses on these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-24 13:37:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9740384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmolypi/pseuds/charmolypi
Summary: Gavin doesn't think things through, sometimes. Sometimes he does. And sometimes it's somewhere in between, like when he decides to finally run away from Achievement City. He's prepared as far as food and water goes...in the sense of fighting creatures, not so much.He's lucky someone seems to take pity on him.(written for mavinweek)





	1. (looking back means regret)

**Author's Note:**

> Feb 14th - first meeting
> 
> (i can't believe this is the first thing i'm posting to this account)

King Geoff had always warned Gavin to be careful, that life is not so easy past the bounds of Achievement City. That things are dangerous, even for someone like him.

Gavin has always been a curious person, always full of questions that others can only begin to start to try and satisfy his eager interest in knowledge.

But he has heard stories of lands from travelers passing through, hangs onto every word Jack tells him of lands far to the east. He treasures every flower the Rose Prince brings when he visits, imagines endless fields of them, gently blowing with the wind. On the winds whisper rumors of the Nether, a land that most don’t travel to— and Gavin can’t lie that, even as briefly the thought has came and went, he’s thought about wanting to see the barren lands of the kingdom the Mad King rules so tightly.

He imagines what the world beyond Achievement City is, and can’t help but let himself be lost in his imagination; something almost fairy-tale like, magical and all. That’s something ironic, magical— Gavin is magical. Magic in flesh and bone and blood; making something unique, unnatural.

Gavin’s always felt a bit out of place, the odd creeper man-boy who shouldn’t exist but does, and challenges even the most oddest things in a city that was founded on old magic.

Still, he’s promised Geoff he won’t go— he can’t go, not like the others and all Geoff has left in Achievement City is him and Jack. He wonders who has left, what reason has made him cling so tightly to them; but Gavin knows there are things not to prod at and times not to question. He has a gut feeling he knows the answer in the end, without Geoff saying a thing.

But Geoff’s words and promises can only sate him for so long before he starts to tire of the easy life around Achievement City. He knows that while he might feel betrayed, he’ll understand. He always does. He’ll let him come back again, if he wants to. Gavin does his best to make sure he won’t find out what he’s planning until he’s long gone.

Gavin’s kind enough to leave a note behind...hidden amongst Jack’s things, of course. Really, it was just because it was more reliable than expecting Geoff to find a note on his own.

He makes sure to have at least a few days worth of food and water packed away, bow and arrows placed in a sheath before being slung over his shoulder. He contemplates on taking his armor, before settling on taking his favorite pair of gold boots— for good luck.

Gavin pulls his scarf over his mouth, tightens his cloak around him and slides on his hood, before slipping off into the night.

* * *

It doesn’t take very long for Gavin to regret his decision to leave in the middle of the night. It’s cold and dark— he strikes a stick of wood with lightning to make a torch, and then quickly deserts that plan when he realizes it garners unwanted attention. Thankfully, he can see pretty well even without the light source that the fire had provided, but it’s still cold. He can hear the distant sound of skeletons shooting arrows, groans of zombies. He shudders— both out of fear and cold— and keeps moving.

He stops when he’s made it a fair good distance away from Achievement City, taking a moment to catch his breath as he looks back. He can still see Geoff’s house in the distance, and feels a small twinge of guilt before looking in front of himself once again.  

There wasn’t any point in looking back.

* * *

Gavin spends the rest of the night and the following day wandering aimlessly; purely focused on quickly making his way away from Achievement City— and he doesn’t know when, but a chicken had started following him. He’d tried to shoo it off, but to no avail, it persisted. He doesn’t mind, he’ll kill it off later on when he needs food; if it sticks around that long. He’s thankful he’d had the foresight to bring food and water with him, because it means he doesn’t need to spend time immediately worrying about those sort of things.

He’s exhausted by the time sunset rolls around, and Gavin acknowledges that he needs to figure out a plan for the night…he just isn’t quite sure what that plan is. He ends up heaving himself up into a tree to take refuge for the night, because staying on the ground means needing to build some sort of shelter, and that’s more work than he wants to put in at the moment.

Despite how exhausted he feels, he cannot fall asleep so easily, a fact that is annoying to him. Gavin can’t help but feel on edge, able to hear movement all around him; the sense that he might be attacked at any given moment. But he closes his eyes, takes deep breathes and insists he’s just being paranoid, on his own for the first time in a long time. He tries to relax so he can sleep at some point that night. It’d be impossible to sleep in the day and there was no way he’d be able to make much progress if he was too tired.

Gavin notices it's gone oddly silent, and he can’t help but feel like something is off. He sticks his head out of his hiding spot in the trees to investigate, and a feeling of dread overcomes him as he lets out a noise— a mixture of something akin to a bird squawk and a startled screech— as he falls out from the tree he’d been in.

There was an enderman staring straight back at him.

* * *

Michael pushes through the undergrowth of the forest, raising a hand up to his head to move his mask so he can peer up at the sky. The moon was still fairly high in the sky— still early. Best to continue on for now, he decides, and moves the bear mask back in place.

He was a warrior, a fighter; a traveler. A nomad with no home to go to. He was a wanderer, he didn’t like staying in one place for more than a few days. Then again, there weren’t many things that he did like.

Michael didn’t have a home. He never could remember having a strong concept of home, not one that he considered his home.

Home was where someone stayed, where it was warm and safe and full of love.

He didn’t need any of those things.

It was weak to be attached to those kind of things… or at least, that was what he claimed.

Michael considers stopping for the night, but quickly decides otherwise. It’s best for him to travel during the night— he can rest during the day without much worry of being attacked by the creatures of this world.

He hears a loud, odd sort of noise (assumably human, considering he doesn’t know of anything that sounds like that); growling to himself as he goes to see what on earth is making that noise.

He hopes whatever it is, isn’t messy. Because blood was a bitch to get unstained and he really wasn’t in the mood for that shit.

* * *

Gavin is a bit of a coward at heart, he supposes.

It wasn’t to say he was incapable of being brave, he could be brave when he needed to be. Just like despite popular belief, he wasn’t dumb— he was quite smart, especially when he found it necessary. However, he’s not the best at thinking on his feet, especially in a moment like this where he’s caught off guard and panicking.

Gavin tries to recall Geoff’s old magic books, lessons he’s memorized time and time again, trying to think of something that he can use as a defense because he doesn’t believe he can really handle an enderman on his own (and therefore, no point in attacking it).

He watches in pure amazement as a rock comes out of seemingly nowhere and hits the enderman’s head. The creature seems to be confused, moving its head around as it lets out a screech.

“ _Hey!_ I’m over here, asshole.” There’s a sharp bark, a deep voice from behind the enderman; and as it focuses on its new target, Gavin takes advantage of the distraction to run and hide in another tree. He can hear the scuffling, the grunts and sounds of a fight going on— and really, he should probably help whoever’s fighting the enderman, but just in case they turn on him, he’d rather just stay out of things and hide.

He hears things go quiet finally, at last— he can hear a noise that indicates the enderman has been killed, and he holds his breath, wondering if the other person will move on, or confront him. He doesn’t have to wonder very long, because he can clearly hear the voice from earlier again, this time directed towards him.

“You can come out now. It’s gone.” Gavin shakes his head in response, then realizes the stranger can’t see him and instead just hisses threateningly at them. He gets a frustrated growl in response, and he can almost feel the stranger glaring at him. _Almost_.

“Seriously, dickhead. Come out of hiding, I just saved your ass. If I wanted you dead then I would’ve let the enderman do that shit for me.” He acknowledges that they have a point, however, he refuses to admit that aloud.

It's quiet for a long while (he isn’t quite sure how long) and he’s almost certain that they’ve let and he’s almost falling asleep when he hears the deep sigh, followed by the sound of something clattering to the ground. “Hear that?” The stranger speaks up, clearly exasperated; and Gavin thinks this man must be nearly as stubborn as he is. “I’ve put down my weapons. Come out of hiding, asshole. I won’t hesitate to climb around to find you instead.”

It’s not really a threat, he knows that much, but he climbs down almost immediately; cloak clutched tight and close as he peers around the tree to get a better look at his ‘savior’.

He’s _wild_ , is Gavin’s first thought; as his eyes trail, head to toe, along his body. He’s wild, with curly flyaway hair, and rugged features; fierce with strong muscles and rampant freckles that can’t even be hidden by the bearskin that covers him. He can’t get a good look at this face, bear mask covering the majority of it, but it only adds to how fierce and feral this man seems.

He thinks he might be just a bit rude in his way of speaking, a little more uncivilized than the people in Achievement City, but Gavin doesn’t feel offended or really mind it much. He’s vicious and untamable; untouched by most of the world.

He’s intense, he makes Gavin’s breath catch in his throat; and he can feel his heart beating almost as wildly as he is.

Something nagging at the back of his head, makes Gavin think he’s almost neglected, something sad that the stranger makes work for him.

The sound of someone clearing their throat is what pulls him from his thoughts. He blinks a few times, then realizes he was probably staring (rather rudely, he might add), and figures he should probably say something.

“Thhhank you for helping.”  Gavin’s voice sounds small and meek to himself, and he frowns a bit internally. He wonders if it’d be okay to hug him, like he would whenever Geoff came to help him when other citizens of Achievement City would— the thought is painful, and he doesn’t let himself finish it as he pushes it down, down and out of his mind (and back into his heart).

He receives a small grunt in response to his thanks, and he goes quiet as he tries to think of something to say. He’s quickly distracted, however, as the other reaches down to pick up his weapons from the ground— which, to his awe consists of just a sword. Gavin realizes moments later, still wonderstruck, that he must be strong in order to have handled a enderman with just a sword so easily; perhaps some sort of warrior that was used to fighting (and well, he can’t deny that his eyes had lingered on the other’s muscular form for a moment...or more than that).

He decides in this instant that he wants to know the stranger better.

“What’sss your name?” He blurts out, a soft hiss accenting his words. He spares Gavin a glance, in the midst of adjusting his sword, now strapped to his back— he notices that the mask had been taken off at some point and now he can see his face quite well. The man eyes him up and down, as if making a second judgement of him, his motivation for asking— it takes all his will not to squirm.

“...Michael.” The stranger—  Michael, Gavin is quick to correct himself— nods to himself, gaze fixated on him intensely, almost intimidatingly.

“Michael.” Gavin repeats slowly, emphasizing each consonant, enjoying how easily it slips off tongue. He let’s out a pleased hum, which really sounds more like hiss, and watches Michael curiously. “I’m Gavin. Where are you traveling to, Michael?”

Gavin can hear him murmur something to himself; the most he can catch is Geoff’s name— Ramsey— before his mouth sets in a small frown. “Places. Where are you going? Achievement City is the other way, you know.”

He frowns and huffs at that. “I know that, I’m not going to Achievement City.”

Gavin receives an amused brow raise in response. “Then where are you headed?”

He doesn’t know, if he’s being honest— he’s sure Michael knows that as well. He won’t admit that aloud, instead grinning at him, a bit sheepish. “Wherever you’re going, Michael.”

Michael snorts at that, rolling his eyes as he pulls his mask back on; turning away and starting to walk off. Gavin deflates for a moment, sulking briefly before a shout gets his attention. “Keep up asshole, I’m not slowing down for you!”

Gavin lets out a startled yelp, quick to dart off after the other’s retreating figure as his heart pounds in his chest. “Wait up for me, boi!” He shouts back in response, grinning widely as he catches up with Michael in a matter of moments.

He can’t begin to imagine what lay in store for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably write another part to this later, after I'm done with mavinweek because I have ideas B)))  
> (like i wanna give jeremy some sort of role and expand on geoff and ryan and actual romantic-y mavin)
> 
> Notes!  
> Gavin has a weird speaking quirk that's mostly hissing (eg, withhh, sshhhowss, etc), which is supposed to mimic the noises that creepers make pre-exploding. I don't remember where I saw this hc but I love it.  
> Gavin keeps his cloak tight bc he’s got some marking differences from a normal human bc creeper boi and he’s very insecure about it


	2. (take a moment to look around you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gavin argue over magic, Gavin meets some of Michael's friends, and they both take a moment to discuss the merits of home.
> 
> (Gavin also can't explain these weird feelings he gets).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has turned into more of a slow burn than I expected it to be.
> 
> I think I can wrap this up in one more part though. 
> 
> (And hey! Some Lindsay and Jeremy in this chapter!)

Michael vaguely regrets agreeing to let Gavin follow him around. It wasn’t like he was annoying (well, kind of), but, well…it wasn’t nearly as easy as he’d originally thought it’d be. There were certainly a few moments where he’d wanted to punch his dumb face over the questions he asked and the stupid arguments they’d get into.

He’d heard of King Geoff’s creeper boy, he’d caught glimpses of the boy on the few occasions he’d passed through Achievement City— he questions how Gavin got away from the city, he knew how protective Geoff could be.

Michael had heard of what Geoff’s creeper boy was capable of.

Which brings him to their current dispute.

“Gavin, magic isn’t real.” He sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Of coursse it’sss bloody real, Michael.” Gavin insisted, looking almost insulted that Michael might be insinuating he was a liar.

Gavin doesn’t notice the way Michael tenses up, the silent mantra ringing through his head.

_Magic isn’t real, magic isn’t real, can’t be real, it’s unnatural—_

(Michael had heard of Geoff’s creeper boy, knew of the supposed magical talent he had).

_Isn’t real, can’t be real—!_

“Michael?” Gavin’s tugging at his arm; he’s pretty sure the concerned tone to his voice is just his imagination.

Michael forces a grin and changes the topic as they continue walking through the forest.

“....I did mean it, you know.” Gavin mutters a while later, when their conversation has come to a lull and they’re taking a break to rest. Michael finds it amusing the way Gavin seems to attract animals to him— there’s currently a bat hanging off of his arm.

Michael opens his mouth to ask what, what he means by that, but shuts his mouth as he watches a spark of lightning being discharged from Gavin’s finger, a small fire catching on his glove tips.

Gavin waves it in Michael’s face for a few minutes, the light reflecting onto their faces and illuminating their eyes— neither of them need the fire to see each other but it’s a nice change. It’s a pleasant warmth, before he puts the flame out.

Gavin grins at him smugly.

(Michael wants to punch Gavin’s dumb face in).

Michael’s awed regardless, even though he tries to hide it.

_Magic isn’t—_

He hushes the voice in the back of his head, he doesn’t like magic, doesn’t understand it— but hell if he’s ruining this for Gavin.

Michael looks away in time to miss Gavin’s flushed cheeks and giddy grin.

* * *

“I know where I want to go.” Gavin blurts out suddenly, like he does— the noise sends several rabbits nearby running, save for one that just twitches an ear in their direction. Michael raises a brow as he turns towards him expectantly, gesturing for him to continue speaking.

“I want to visit thhhe Rose Prince.” Michael snorts as he turns back away and continues walking.

“No.”

“No?” Gavin repeats— Michael can see from the corner of his eye that his head is tilted, curious and confused.

“Not right now.” Michael clarifies, looking back at him. “He won’t be at the kingdom if we head there now.” It’s lucky that he happens to be aware of these kind of things, the advantages of a traveler who hears things through the grapevines.

“He won’t?” Gavin is clearly curious, so Michael sighs as he further explains to him.

“He’ll be in the Nether, he and the Mad King have official business to sort out.”

“Thhen why don’t we go to the Nethhher, Michael?” Michael shoot him a look that clearly says _are you crazy_ as he shakes his head.

(For such a sharp person, Gavin could certainly be ignorant. He wondered who’s fault it was that he seemed to be so unknowledgeable about the way the Kingdoms worked.)

“No one goes to the Nether without _his_ permission, Gavin. It’s just not wise.” Michael says with a tone of finality, clearly not willing to argue on the subject.

“Oh.” Gavin seems to be satisfied with that, but he doesn’t stay quiet for long— of course, because that would be nothing short of a miracle. “Michael, where are we going?”

Michael grins, relieved that he’s asking something he can actually offer an answer to, and points to some buildings barely seeable in the distance. “Buildsville.”

* * *

It takes them another day and a half before they arrive in Buildsville.

Gavin had heard of it before, both from travelers and from Geoff (and Jack). He’d tried asking Michael about what it was like, but the most he’d gotten out of him was a shrug and a simple “It’s alright.”

So Gavin isn’t too sure what to expect when they get there.

It’s a small town, compared to Achievement City, but its...nice. It’s bustling and alive for a small town, and it felt kind of homely.

(There’s a small ache of homesickness, that he’s quick to push away)

Like a child to their parents, Gavin follows Michael around and asks questions— his curiosity was perhaps the one thing that could never be quieted.

There’s a blur of bright red in the corner of his eye— he lets out a startled screech as an arm settles around his shoulder, the other doing the same around Michael's.

“ _Christ_ , Lindsay.” Michael sighs, a fond look on his face as he looked at her— Gavin feels his stomach twist for some reason he can’t quite name.

“What? You haven’t been around in a while—”

“I’ve been around in the last few months, that’s recent enough.” He interjects, rolling his eyes.

“Still a while, asshole.” She shrugs, before turning her gaze to Gavin. “Who’s your friend?”

“That’s Gavin. Try not to scare him too much.” Gavin utters a small noise in protest as Lindsay gives him a scrutinizing look before nodding, moving her arm as she pats his back.  

“Come on, I bet you two are hungry for some good food.” Lindsay says as she leads the way, her and Michael making small talk and laughing.

Gavin lingers behind by a few steps, feeling oddly out of place and sick for home.

* * *

Gavin has to admit that Lindsay’s a ridiculously good cook.

While they eat, Michael introduces him to Jeremy, who talks to him while Michael and Lindsay catch up. He appreciates the other’s company, telling him about the town and happily answering Gavin’s questions. He can’t help but let his gaze stray towards the other two, something that doesn’t go unnoticed.

_They sure are close, aren’t they?_

“Yeah, they’re pretty close.” Jeremy says, and Gavin realizes that he spoke that rather than thought that, and has enough shame to at least look a little embarrassed. “They’ve known each other for a long time, since they were younger. Something like that.”

He turns his head to stare at him curiously, the other man speaking up before he can even ask the question on his mind. “I don’t know the details, so don’t ask me.” Gavin pouts at Jeremy, the other reaching over to lightly punch his arm. “All I know is I think Michael saved Lindsay’s life, and then she did the same.”

Gavin nods and accepts that answer. He feels a sense of pride swell in his chest with the new information, and grins when Michael catches his eye. He turns his attention back to Jeremy, and they talk about various topics to pass the time.

“You two are pretty close.” Gavin says later on, when it’s just the two of them again for a brief moment.

Michael tilts his head for a brief moment, then smiles and shrugs. “Lindsay’s practically my sister. I’ve missed her.”

Just those words, somehow, manage to put Gavin at ease.

* * *

It’s quickly decided that they’ll stay for a few days to restock on supplies before heading back out to the forest. Gavin doesn’t particularly mind since Michael seems happy being in town, so he keeps quiet and bears it since it’ll only be a few days. Most of their first day in town is spent resting anyways.

He gets a bit of a surprise, early in the second day, when he hears one of the townspeople call for _Mogar_ and watches as Michael turns and responds.

_What?_

Gavin had heard of Mogar, it was hard not to— it was just one of those names that you _knew_ , regardless of what part of the lands you lived in.

He’d heard of the fierce bear warrior (and really, he should’ve connected the dots sooner).

Michael hasn’t even noticed that Gavin has frozen up in surprise; he realizes that he doesn’t care if he knows or not.

He wonders how many people know Michael’s real name— given how the townspeople seem to default to referring to Michael as Mogar, he had to guess not many. And yet, Michael had chosen to introduce himself as Michael, not as Mogar, even though he knew he’d probably recognize him by that name if he did.

Gavin feels a bit warm on the inside upon coming to the conclusion that Michael had willingly chosen to tell him his name when they’d met.

* * *

It’s not a surprise when Lindsay yanks his arm and drags him away to talk to him (finally), just them. It seems like it would be inevitable, really.

Gavin watches her a bit nervously and doesn’t try to start a conversation, instead waiting for her to start speaking. Lindsay stirs her drink, sips on it, and stares at him for a good couple of minutes, and he almost starts to wonder if she’d grabbed him by mistake, but then she starts to speak.

“So, I’m sure you know why I want to talk to you.” Gavin nods, since her statement is more or less true— he has his suspicions as to why.

“Good. So,” Lindsay claps her hand on his shoulder, smiling in a way that really shouldn’t be as threatening as it feels. “Listen, Michael’s picky with who he gets close to, and he really seems to like you. So don’t be a dick to him, or _else_.”

Gavin can’t help but wonder what on earth’s happened to them in order for her to feel the need to ‘threaten’ him like that. “I could never imagine doing ssssuch a thhing to him.” He promises sincerely, and she smiles (genuinely, this time) in response.

“Glad to hear it. Because you really seem to make him happy.”

(Too bad Gavin’s completely oblivious as to what she actually meant).

* * *

They stay in Buildsville for a total of almost two weeks, because Michael decides Gavin needs a break (because he’s clearly not used to traveling) and there’s not any point in them rushing to travel to the Kingdom of Roses.

But at the end of two weeks they leave the town and bid Jeremy and Lindsay farewell— of course, with promises to come visit again eventually.

Michael’s glad, honestly, because as nice as it could be, he always felt antsy in towns; out of place with all the people. He much prefers traveling on his own, though admittedly he’s grown fond of having Gavin’s company around.

He chooses to inform Gavin of this, smiling small at how he brightens up, though this is only followed by questioning.

“But doesssn’t being in town remind you of home?” He asks, and Michael almost scowls at the word.

Home. What a foreign concept. Home didn’t exist anymore; home was lost, destroyed— nothing could bring it back.

He wants to be angry, and he _wants_ to be spiteful and lash out; he won’t though, because Gavin doesn’t know any better, doesn’t know what happened.

He doesn’t know that Michael hates magic because of all it took from him.

(Michael wishes he could _hate_ Gavin, but he can’t.)

“My home is always with me.” He says instead, rather simply.

It’s not far from the truth, anyways.

* * *

“Do you remember your own home?” Michael asks later on, and Gavin knows he doesn’t mean Achievement City. He doesn’t look up from the baby llama he’s fawning over, petting its head; though all earlier laughter he had leaves him for the moment.

“I don’t remember, really.” He speaks softly, the lie feeling like it’s burning his tongue.

It doesn’t settle well in his stomach.

Gavin remembers very well, what happened. He remembers the arguments, the fighting, the yelling and blood—

He remembers running and running and crying and _fear_ , running blindly and straight into King Geoff Ramsey, who asked no questions and took him in and soothed his tears, fed him promise after promise of safety and _love_.

Gavin wishes things were as easy as they were back then.

“We don’t talk anymore, I upsset thhhe race. I accept thhat’sss how thhhings are.”

Gavin is thankful Michael leaves it at that.

A comfortable silence settles in after that as they trek on, taking small breaks on occasion and checking up on each other to make sure they’re okay.

Michael stops for a moment, tapping on Gavin’s shoulder to get his attention, and points out to him  a castle not too far away.

“We’re almost there.”


	3. (just look forward, my love)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Michael meet the Rose Prince, have a few adventures, and establish some things between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, we reach the last part!
> 
> Ray’s pretty major in this chapter, featuring some Jack, Ryan, Meg, and Kdin!  
> There’s Raywood but I tried to leave it ambiguous for the most part.  
> I rewrote this a few times so this was delayed by a lot— a fight scene got removed, Meg/Ray/Ryan/and Kdin all had backstories that ended up not having any place in this, and I think it got less romantic than I wanted it to be. (Maybe I'll write for Meg/Ryan/Ray/Kdin backstory another time?)   
> I hope it’s still a good read anyways!

The Kingdom of Roses is much more beautiful than Gavin expects it to be.

The wildlife is _everywhere_ and despite the fact it’s overgrown, it isn’t a disorderly feeling. It’s almost like a sense of safety, and the flora of the kingdom is everything Gavin could’ve imagined it to be and more.

Michael is clearly familiar with the kingdom, so Gavin just follows him since he figures that he knows what he’s doing. And he’s correct about that, because he immediately takes them to the castle to request an audience with the prince. Of course, they can’t see him right away, but the request has been made so it’s progress.

They retire to an inn after that, spending the rest of the day leisurely, to rest and chat and discuss plans— because regardless of Gavin’s wishes to visit the kingdom, he’d never actually said anything about what he’d wanted to do when he got there.

Despite that, Gavin goes to sleep that night warm and happy with what he was doing.

* * *

Gavin’s always secretly been slightly jealous of the Rose Prince. He is technically a king in his own right, the only ruler of the Kingdom of Roses, the sole heir to the throne; but far too humble to accept the title of king. And so he is the Rose Prince to everyone, most days.

Ray is elegant, holds himself in a way that— despite Gavin only being slightly taller than him— makes him feel so much smaller in comparison. He is modest in many ways, yet proud and rich and unabashed in the way he approaches everything.

He is only _slightly_ jealous, because he knows of the tragedies that lead to him taking the throne at a young age, and that is not something that he could wish on anyone, something he could never imagine being able to handle.

They are escorted to the throne room under the watchful gazes of castle guards, and Gavin is quick to drop to his knee in a bow (he’s pretty certain that Michael only does the same because the guards are still lingering).

“Rise, you two.” Ray sounds vaguely amused as he dismisses the guards, and Gavin takes that as a cue that he can properly greet the prince the way he usually does— with a running leap that almost knocks the other over as he hugs him. Ray chuckles as he ruffles his hair before prying him off of his arm so that he can fix his glasses back on his face. “So what brings you here?”

“Wanted to visssit you, Ray.” Gavin chirps, pleased with the attention he’s received. “I wanted to be here ssooner, but Michael sssaid you were in the Nethher. What were you doing thhhere, anywayss?”

Michael shoots a look in his direction because that’s not the kind of thing you can just ask, but Gavin’s curiosity has spoken before any part of his brain could even factor in mannerisms. Ray waves him off, a small shake of his shoulders with mirth as he gestures for them to follow him.

“Portals have been popping up around the kingdom recently, all of them between here and the Nether. Since neither of us know where they’re coming from, we have to set some sort of protocol for them in the meantime.” He speaks steadily as he leads them out to the garden, his attention immediately going towards tending to his roses. “They’re being made with a magic different from what we’re used to dealing in, so we can’t close them off.”

Gavin watches in wonder as the flowers come alive under his fingertips, blooms full and lively and somehow more vibrant than they were before. He observes closely, his attention and curiosity switching over to asking about the flowers instead; Michael occasionally chipping into the conversation.

“Gavin, head back without me.” Michael says when they’re ready to leave, Gavin’s curiosity more or less satisfied upon being able to speak the prince. “I need to speak with Ray alone for a bit.”

He glances at him curiously, but doesn’t say anything and leaves the two in silence as he heads back into the main part of the kingdom. He figures if it’s important, Michael will mention it to him later.

* * *

Michael knows Ray’s gaze is on him, almost knowingly. He gives the other a stern _don’t start_ look because he knows he wants to say something. Ray and Michael have known each other for a long time, almost longer than the amount of time he has ruled his kingdom.

It’s no surprise that Ray is one of the people that knows him best, probably only second to Lindsay.

“Do you want to explain why you’ve got Geoff’s kid hanging around you like a lost puppy?” Ray isn’t one for tact, and Michael knows that clearly, he’s not going to be able to get out of this conversation.

“From what I get, he chose to leave Achievement City. And he’s not the worst company, so.” Michael shrugs, and Ray gives him a look of disbelief.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s all it is.” The prince rolls his eyes. “You act like I didn’t notice the way you were watching him when he wasn’t looking.” Michael huffs, but doesn’t say anything in response because Ray is right, despite how much he might want to _deny_ it— he doesn’t know when he’d gotten more than just a little protective over Gavin.

“I need you to do me a favor.” Michael starts, ignoring the brow raise he gets and continues speaking. “Gavin was speaking about wanting to see the Nether. You’re probably one of the people most qualified to get him there.”

Ray seems to deflate a bit, as if he was expecting something more serious than that (well, he couldn’t blame him if that was the case), contemplating this as he gently plucks damaged petals from a flower.

“I’ve always wanted to take him there, Geoff said it was too dangerous and refused to let me offer Gavin the chance.” He muses, scratching his chin. “If I knew you two were coming, I would’ve asked while I was still in the Nether. I’ll see what I can do on short notice.”

Michael’s curiosity is piqued, but he doesn’t inquire exactly what, opting to mumble a soft thanks to his friend.

“That’s the most I can ask.” Michael says before leaving.

* * *

Ray sighs to himself as Michael leaves, turning to head back into the castle, going straight to his desk. Best to get things started as quickly as possible.

He writes a brief letter before sealing it, stepping out on the balcony and quietly calling for Conrad. The bird lets out a happy chirrup, and he ties the parchment around its leg. “Take that to Ryan, would you?” He murmurs, receiving another sweet twitter in reply. “Thanks.”

He watches Conrad fly off, gaze sweeping around and notices a bird watching him.

Well, that wasn’t unnerving at _all_.

Regardless, Ray holds an arm out, curious to see if it’ll react. It does, landing on his arm and preening its feathers.

There was something not completely right with this bird, he concludes as he observes it. He has to stare for a few more moments before a thought comes to mind.

“...Jack. Did Geoff send you to follow Gavin around?” There’s a moment pause before the bird flies off of his arm, and he has a kneeling knight before him.

“Ray. Forgive me for trespassing.” Jack is polite as always, waiting until Ray tells him to stand before continuing. “I come of my own accord, not Geoff’s. To keep an eye on Gavin, of course.”

“Jack!” He chastises softly. “Don’t you think that’s why he’s here? Because he got tired of you and Geoff babying him?” Jack opens his mouth to respond, but Ray isn’t quite done yet. “And I doubt you said much to Geoff before leaving, did you? You’re probably worrying him sick. Gavin will be fine and you know it.”

The knight sighs, shoulders slumped and head dipped. “I know. You’re right. I can’t help but worry about him, Ray...but I know Geoff’s worrying too.”

“Head home, Jack.” He murmurs, gently patting his shoulder. “You know he’ll be alright. Send my best regards to Geoff, will you?”

Ray breathes a sigh of relief as he watches the man shapeshifts back and fly off, and heads back inside before anything else can happen. He’s had enough of this shit for one night.

Why is it that he’s always the one fixing shit for his friends, they’d better be **grateful** for what he does—

* * *

Michael says they’ll be staying in the kingdom for a bit, claims he has things to do, and then disappears for hours at a time. Gavin doesn’t mind because the Kingdom of Roses is a lovely place.

Gavin is curious, so this means he spends a lot of time exploring the kingdom (cautiously, of course, because the kingdom is foreign and he is a stranger in this place). He’d be happier if Michael was with him while he was exploring, but it keeps him from being bored so he never vocally complains.

But there’s only so much of the kingdom he can explore, however, before he starts to get bored of it.

And that’s how Gavin finds himself exploring outside of the kingdom. He’d felt an almost unnatural tugging to go out there from day one— something _beckoning_ , encouraging him to go out there, and he might as well give in to it. It’s not so bad, the forest feels familiar to what they’ve been traveling through, almost homely at this point.

He lets himself be blindly guided by the pull, following the feeling as he heads wanders into the depths of the forest.

The tugging leads him to stumbling upon a small cottage in the midst of the forest, and he furrows his brows in confusion, and wonders if Ray knows that there’s someone here. He stays hidden, observing the house— whoever lived there was currently present (well, that was his conclusion based on the smoke coming from the chimney).

He’s right, because a woman emerges from the house— he quickly identifies her as a witch, based on her clothing— and speculates over the likeliness that she resided there alone, or if there was another witch nearby he should worry about. He’s not really scared of witches, no; but he liked keeping magic usage and fighting to a minimum. For that reason, he keeps quiet and watches, waiting— waits to see what she might do.

She is small and lithe and pretty; a kind face and warm eyes and a bright smile. That being said, Gavin is still wary, because witches can be unpredictable.

She carries on with her business (which happens to be cleaning up the outside of the house) and Gavin thinks he’s gotten off unnoticed— and then she turns, a cheeky grin as she stares straight at him. He feels his heart thudding in his chest because there’s no way she could see him from where he’s ‘hiding’— _right_?

“Sweetheart, are you going to just stare, or what?” Gavin doesn’t realize he’s stepping forward until he’s walked right up to her.

She smiles triumphantly and invites him inside to talk. He agrees and follows her inside, curiously observing the household; it feels normal enough for the most part.

The witch introduces herself as Meg, and talks to him over a pleasant cup of tea.

“Did you bring me here?” Gavin blurts out in the middle of their conversation, and she lets out a loud laugh before replying.

“Dear, I sensed a new magical presence when you and your friend passed through the forest to get to the kingdom. Pardon me for being curious about it.”

(There’s something still tugging at his mind though)

“Do thhe people in thhhe kingdom know you’re here?” He inquires, an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

“The only people who know I’m here are the ones I let know. People can’t see this place if I don’t let them.” She seems rather proud of that fact.

“Doessss thhe Rose Prince know you’re here?” Gavin clarifies, and she lets out an amused snort at the slightest implication that she was hiding.

“Of course he does, I know him quite well.” He nods, pleased with that answer— the satisfaction lasts only moments before another question comes to mind.

“You’re thhhhe causse of thhe portalssss, aren’t you?” It is not so much a question as it is a realization. Meg winks at him.

“I might have something to do with them. Relax, they’ll figure it out eventually. They’ve been using them anyways, I can sense it.” She smirks at the look on his face, before quickly adding. “Don’t mention it to them though, will you?”

He still feels a bit uneasy, but nods quickly and agrees. She sends him home not too long later, a small smile on his lips.

“You’re welcome to come back if you need anything.” She speaks with a surprising amount of sincerity.

Gavin decides not to mention Meg when Michael asks what he’d done that day.

* * *

A messenger from the castle arrives a few days later, and Michael goes to retrieve the message while Gavin waits (patiently) in their room. And by patiently, he means impatiently fidgeting and pacing as he wonders what the message is and waits for Michael to come back. Which probably only takes a few minutes at most, but it feels like forever when he has nothing better to be doing (actually, there are probably things he could be doing, but that’s besides the point).

Michael returns with a parchment— Gavin can make out the kingdom’s official seal— and grins and his direction. “Guess who’s got permission to visit the Nether?”

He gasps sharply, face brightening up with a giddy grin and excitement. “We’re vissssiting thhe Nethhher?”

“You know it. Get ready, we’re to leave immediately.” Gavin lets out a pleased noise, and turns to retrieve his things.

(Gavin is oblivious to the fond look Michael is watching him with)

* * *

Ray meets them at the castle gates, leading them to a nearby portal for them to take— Gavin thinks about Meg’s words, and considers saying something about the portals for just a moment before deciding to keep quiet.

He notices roses greeting them on the other side of the portal when they step through, wondering if it’s just Ray’s presence, or something else altogether for why they were growing there.

The Nether is... **different** to what he expects, to say that least.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing— simply, that he’s heard so many rumors he’s pleasantly surprised that most of them fail to be true. Then again, the barren state of the Nether, when compared to so many of the other kingdoms; it makes sense that other’s would be biased in thinking that things were so poor here.

That being said, he’s still extremely glad Ray is accompanying them, since he’s familiar with the land, unlike himself and Michael. He can’t help but still feel slightly on edge in such an odd place.

As if he can sense how uneasy Gavin feels, Michael keeps close to him, arm around his shoulders almost in a protective manner, as if to make him disappear into his side; and he can’t help but feel much more relaxed as they walk.

Ray leads them to the castle, which isn’t far from the portal they’d taken to reach the Nether.

Gavin has always thought of the Rose Prince and the Mad King as odd opposites of each other, balancing each other out in a weird sense.

The Rose Prince was so very refined in appearance, yet not at all in attitude; while the Mad King looked disorderly and deranged, but was finely polished in his manners. One would think that they would clash, but instead, they seem to understand each other with ease and practically mesh with each other.

Gavin watches as the two greet each other, a mixture of something respectful yet casual all the same; a practiced song and dance that looks routine and natural.

“Your highness.” Ray greets the other, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture as he bows, and the other king catches his hand with ease and raises it up to brush against his lips.

“Your highness.” He parrots back, a grin on his face. “I hope you received my message from Edgar without any issue.”

“Ah yes, I received the message from _Conrad_ just fine.”

It almost feels like he’s spying on something private, something intimate between the two, the casual bantering between them; and he averts his gaze for the moment.

When the two finally step away from each other and go quiet, Gavin feels compelled to say something to break the silence, but for once in his life he’s speechless. Thankfully, Michael breaks the silence by speaking for them. “Mad King—”

“Please, just Ryan is fine.” The king interrupts, a hint of amusement in his expression.

“Ryan.” Michael concedes. “On the behalf of both us, please allow me to thank you for your generosity in granting us permission to visit your kingdom.”

“It is a pleasure, visitors are always rare. After all, Ray put in quite a good word in your name.”

“It is still kind of you to allow us to do so. Isn’t that right, Gavin?” Michael nudges Gavin’s side with his elbow, and he almost lets out a startled squawk of surprise.

“Y-Yesss! It, it’ss a real honor thhat you allowed usss to vissit on ssuch sssshort notice.” Gavin babbles for a few moments— okay, so maybe he’s kind of intimidated by the Mad King still.

“The pleasure is all mine. **Especially** when the Rose Prince asks for a favor so kindly.” He chuckles, before gesturing for them to follow. “I am under the impression you’d like a tour of the kingdom.”

There isn’t actually much of the kingdom to show off— it’s more wildlife than most of the major kingdoms are; small but still comfortable, not at all like the supposed desertedness that was rumored of.

Ray and Ryan exchange a glance before the king offers to show them something, and as they follow his lead to a cave, Gavin can’t help but secretly worry that they might die.

His worries, for the most part, die off fairly quickly; his eyes are wide and filled with wonder as he takes in the sight of the creature they are quickly approaching on— a rare thing, a myth, something that was rumored of and otherwise brushed aside.

A dragon, an **_ender dragon_ ** was before them, and he watches Ryan approach him? her?— it, gently stroking its neck as it stirred from its slumber.

(Gavin resists the urge to do the same, his curiosity to touch what looks like must be smooth scales).

“What’sss itss name?” He asks innocently as he steps away from Michael to approach it, cowering slightly when it rears its head to let out an angry huff in his direction.

“Her name is Kdin.” The king corrects him sternly, but gently all the same. “Not it.”

“Kdin is kind of similar to you, Gav.” Ray chips in. “Right, Ryan?”

“So you have said.” He pats the dragon's head in an affectionate manner. “Kdin, if you’d please…?”

She lets out a rumble as Ryan steps away, and he watches as moments later, the dragon was replaced by a much smaller figure, a feminine one with skin covered in black scales.

Gavin still has the urge to touch the scales, reaching a hand out and waiting until he’s given a nod of permission to gently run his fingers over the scales. He pulls his cloak away slightly to show off patches of blotchy green skin, grinning as the other returns the gesture of fingers ghosting over the blemishes in his skin with curious eyes.

He is ecstatic to meet someone who was so similar yet different to him; taking an immediate liking. They bond quickly, over shared similarities between the two of them. Gavin has to wonder why she’s here, in the Nether— but knows it is not his place to pry, not now. He’ll ask one day, perhaps, but for now his curiosity (for once) is sated; and is quick to _promise_ he’ll come visit her again, if he is allowed to.

He feels eyes on him, turns his head to look at Michael, who is watching him with an intense gaze (and is that jealousy he sees in his eyes?) Gavin smiles at him brightly, and relaxes when it is returned with a small smile.

* * *

Michael is prepared for the inevitable. Michael has been ready for it since the very day Gavin announced he wanted to visit the Kingdom of Roses.

Gavin, in Michael’s opinion, is someone who was suited to stay in one place; he isn’t a wanderer like Michael is. That’s okay, he doesn’t mind it, he **definitely** doesn’t care, when he knows that this would be the end result from early on.

After seeing the Kingdom of Roses, Buildsville, and the Nether, there had to be somewhere that Gavin found appealing enough to want to stay permanently— the Kingdom of Roses had to be a likely option, especially if he was planning on returning to the Nether.

He isn’t sure if he should say something, or just leave, but decides on the former if just so that Michael doesn’t have to be concerned with Gavin possibly getting worried over his disappearance— which isn’t likely, _why_ would he get worried over him?— so he confronts him so that they can get this over with and Michael can go on his merry way alone.

“So.” Michael curses the fact that he didn’t really actually think this through, and is now scrambling to come up with what he wanted to say. “I think I’m going to move on pretty soon, gotta keep traveling and all that, you know? So if you want to stay around in one of the kingdoms around here, I understand.”

“What?” Gavin looks thoroughly confused, his disbelief seeping into the tone of his voice. “Iss thhhat what you thhink? Thhhat I assked to follow you around jusst to ssstay here?”

If Michael is being truthful, he honestly doesn’t know what Gavin thinks, and just shrugs in response to his questions. Gavin pouts at that, grabbing at his hands with a small laugh. “You’re dumb, Michael. I want an adventure, thhat’sss why I assked to follow you, becaussse I knew you had to be a traveler. It’ss nice here, but I’m not ready to ssssettle down anywhere yet. I can’t imagine traveling withhhh anyone elssse but _you_ now, sso pleassse let me keep accompanying you around?”

Michael is relieved, even if it doesn’t show— he wonders if maybe Gavin can tell that he’s happy to have him around. He simply just nods, nudging his side. “Then get some rest, we’re leaving at the crack of dawn.” Gavin squawks before making an actual, coherent complaint, but they’re both smiling.

For once, Michael feels at **_home_ **.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the animals in the last two chapters? All Jack.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's read this/supported through kudos, etc!


End file.
